An Okie teacher banished to the Midwest.
"Education is not the filling a bucket but the lighting of a fire."-- William Butler Yeats

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Speechless... but the mighty text message rolls on

I have just had something happen that completely flummoxes me. Perhaps I am just a fossil hopelessly ourt of step with the times, but I think not.

I just had a parent textmessage their child to tell them a very close relative died.

I am appalled. Perhaps I am too sensitive.

But! Can't you get on the phone and call my room and ask to speak to your child or have them called down to the office so that you can tell them something like this in your own voice?

This young person was devastated.

We have a no cellphone rule that I am usually quite the stickler about. However, if a child has a true emergency, I say turn the thing on vibrate and place it up close to your body after checking with me. That's how this young person got the text message.

Well, at least they didn't use emoticons or those ridiculous abbreviations.

Another example of a parent demonstrating a lack of being a parent. What sort of person would tell a child/young person of someone they loves death in such a cold manner? Sad. Pathetic.

I am beginning to believe that theaters, restaurants, cemeteries, funeral homes, hospitals, churches and other places like these should have cell phone blockers because too many people have failed their test when it comes to being able to shut their damn cell phones off at such places.

Dinosaur? Ms. Cornelia? Hey, I don't even have a cell phone. My computer is as fancy an electronic gizmo as I have ( and its my wifes fault for introducing me to word processing on her old Mac e or some now primative model of home computers )

I agree 100% with Polski3 - that parent wasn't. If it were our family experiencing this kind of situation, not only would my child hear the news in my own voice, but she'd see my face, too - and I'd be standing by ready to hold her if she needed it. Oh, and she'd be coming home with me, too.

As my husband is in the tech field, my family is pretty wired. That said, we would NEVER text one of our kids with that kind of news. Of course, we would never text our kids in school because their phones are off and in their lockers (isn't that the rule?).

On the other hand, the parent was quite possibly in a state of shock themselves. I know that when my grandma died I wasn't thinking straight for many days.

I feel very sorry for the kid, but I am wary of judging the behaviour of any person who is grieving as right or wrong. Just because someone's a parent doesn't mean they are suddenly perfectly rational beings 100% of the time when it comes to dealing with their children. I don't know anything about this parent, but I think it's quite possible that on a normal day they are loving and considerate and warm to their children.

I have had this happen in my class. A student came in late and was given a detention so she texted her mom about it. Mom calls me within 10 minutes so I was surprised. When I asked mom how she found out she told me. I explained my policy and then explained the rules about cell phones. I told her that she was lucky I didn't take the phone away but would next time. If there is a problem in the future, feel free to call me and we would discuss it but the phone would be confiscated so we need to make sure the student does this in an appropriate way.

What's On the Bookshelf? (And stacked on the floor, and in the loo, and next to my bed, and in my backpack....)

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace

The Stripping of the Altars, by Eamonn Duffy

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher

The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde

Columbine, by Dave Cullen

The Forever War, by Dexter Filkins

Here, Bullet, by Brian Turner

Random Thoughts

"Read-ity read read read."-- The Ramblin' Educat

"Personally, I think for democracy to exist, opposition is key. History seems to bear that out. One sign you're doing a good job is when the only argument the extablishment can muster is "shut up" and variations on that theme.-- NYC Educator

"The only thing worse than having no taste is having no shame."-- via Mamacita

"The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse is because you cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery & Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment."-- Molly Ivins (via Mike in Texas!)

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."-- Dean Wormer, Animal House

"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts."-- John Steinbeck